]]>While summer is still another month away, nearly 43 million Americans are expected to jump start their travel season this Memorial Day weekend. Hear from CEA’s Chris Ventura how families can look to conserve energy this summer.

]]>Consumer Group Responds to New York Regulators Denying Williams Pipeline Permithttps://consumerenergyalliance.org/2019/05/consumer-group-responds-to-new-york-regulators-denying-williams-pipeline-permit/
Tue, 21 May 2019 02:02:24 +0000https://consumerenergyalliance.org/?p=35957CEA’s Brydon Ross offers insight to why the denial of the permit for the Williams Pipeline is bad for consumers in New York and across the Northeast region. Listen here: CBS2 News

]]>Top 5 Energy News Stories This Weekhttps://consumerenergyalliance.org/2019/05/top-5-news-stories-in-energy-this-week-5/
Fri, 17 May 2019 13:13:40 +0000https://consumerenergyalliance.org/?p=35953Lake Erie Wind Project Will Have Collision Detection Equipment The Ohio Power Siting Board and Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. have reached a compromise as they decide to install high-tech collision detection equipment to detect wildlife impacts like bats and birds. The Icebreaker Wind Project is a 20.7-megawatt demonstration project with the potential of Lake

The Ohio Power Siting Board and Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. have reached a compromise as they decide to install high-tech collision detection equipment to detect wildlife impacts like bats and birds. The Icebreaker Wind Project is a 20.7-megawatt demonstration project with the potential of Lake Erie-based wind farms to generate 5-gigawatts of electricity.

Since February of 2016, the United States has been exporting liquified natural gas (LNG). Since then, American LNG exports have grown each year, growing 53% from 2017 to 2018. Distributing to thirty-five countries in South America, Asia, Africa and more, American LNG is in high demand. With its continued growth, the U.S. is set to be the world’s third-largest LNG exporter behind Australia and Qatar.

In America’s largest 57 cities, solar energy capacity has more than doubled in 45 of them over the past six years. Cities like New York City, Seattle and Dallas have quadrupled their solar power capacity in the same time! While Honolulu and Los Angeles rank among the top cities for installed solar capacity, Washington, D.C. leads the South Atlantic region and Burlington, Vermont in the Northeast.

As temperatures creep up across much of the country, you may be looking for ways to keep your household cool while keeping energy bills low. Looking at your air conditioner to make sure it has been serviced regularly, and if it has not then reaching out to a technician to make sure it is running as efficiently as possible. Additionally, ensuring your insulation is good is a way to keep cool air from escaping.

A new geothermal heating and cooling system is coming to the engineering campus at the University of Illinois. The project is set to install geothermal heat exchanger loops in a pedestrian “smart” bridge that will link two laboratories together. The University has set a goal to be carbon-neutral by 2050, so this new geothermal project is just one step in meeting that goal.

]]>We Have Enough Oil and Natural Gas to Last Over 120 Yearshttps://consumerenergyalliance.org/2019/05/we-have-enough-oil-and-natural-gas-to-last-over-120-years/
Fri, 17 May 2019 11:44:19 +0000https://consumerenergyalliance.org/?p=35951Briefing legislators in Alabama, CEA President, David Holt discusses how the state’s economy has benefited greatly thanks to oil and natural gas, the upcoming offshore energy plan and more. Holt said the state of Alabama just received over $30 million in revenue from energy currently being produced in the Gulf of Mexico and will make

]]>Briefing legislators in Alabama, CEA President, David Holt discusses how the state’s economy has benefited greatly thanks to oil and natural gas, the upcoming offshore energy plan and more.

Holt said the state of Alabama just received over $30 million in revenue from energy currently being produced in the Gulf of Mexico and will make more if President Donald Trump’s administration’s offshore energy plan is implemented.

]]>Consumer Group Expresses Disappointment over another Denial of Critical Energy Infrastructurehttps://consumerenergyalliance.org/2019/05/consumer-group-expresses-disappointment-over-another-denial-critical-energy-infrastructure/
Thu, 16 May 2019 16:14:55 +0000https://consumerenergyalliance.org/?p=35942Washington D.C. – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading consumer advocate for energy, expressed their disappointment after the Department of Environmental Conservation rejected the construction of a natural gas pipeline that would provide vital energy to New York. Following the decision, Mike Butler, CEA’s Mid-Atlantic Executive Director, made the following statement: “The New York Department

]]>Washington D.C. – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading consumer advocate for energy, expressed their disappointment after the Department of Environmental Conservation rejected the construction of a natural gas pipeline that would provide vital energy to New York. Following the decision, Mike Butler, CEA’s Mid-Atlantic Executive Director, made the following statement:

“The New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) decision to block the critically-needed Northeast Supply Enhancement Project is a letdown to families, households and those struggling to make ends meet,” said Butler.

“The nearly $1 billion project will not only assist in reducing carbon emissions in New York City by almost 3 million tons a year, helping the state meet its mandates, but it would also put our skilled trades to work upgrading and modernizing our energy infrastructure – which is desperately needed. Consumers everywhere should be disappointed by the DEC’s action – New Yorkers already pay 38% higher for their residential electric rate than the rest of the country.

“Utilities have warned that without additional supplies communities across the region, and in Long Island, will face moratoriums on new natural gas hook-ups. We need a realistic plan to meet the region’s growing energy needs affordably, and this project will provide tremendous economic and environmental benefits today if our regulators could only get to ‘yes.’ The Cuomo Administration is moving forward with offshore wind, which is a positive development, but it sets double-standards when it comes to other energy infrastructure like pipelines. We don’t have to pick winners and losers to meet our energy and environmental needs.

Butler concluded by saying: “New York’s policymakers must set aside the unrealistic, shrill, and frankly irresponsible political demands of activists and do the right thing for working parents, seniors, and low-income communities by providing them with the affordable energy they desperately need. We hope that the technical issues raised in the permit denial are expeditiously addressed so we can stay on track with a brighter and more prosperous energy future.”

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About Consumer Energy AllianceConsumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading consumer advocate for energy, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, our mission is to help ensure stable prices and energy security for households and businesses across the country. CEA works daily to encourage people across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our energy needs.

]]>Natural Gas Helps West Virginia Residents Reduce Energy Costshttps://consumerenergyalliance.org/2019/05/natural-gas-helps-west-virginia-residents-reduce-energy-costs/
Mon, 13 May 2019 18:42:10 +0000https://consumerenergyalliance.org/?p=35895As West Virginia is producing record levels of natural gas, CEA asks and answers how beneficial this has been for consumers across the state in terms of money saved and jobs created. It has been a boon not just in cost savings, but in job creation. Since 2010, construction and drilling jobs increased 77.54 percent,

]]>As West Virginia is producing record levels of natural gas, CEA asks and answers how beneficial this has been for consumers across the state in terms of money saved and jobs created.

It has been a boon not just in cost savings, but in job creation. Since 2010, construction and drilling jobs increased 77.54 percent, employing nearly 12,000. In comparison, all other industries experienced just a 15.74 percent increase in employment combined.

]]>Energy Investment, Production Benefit Families, Businesseshttps://consumerenergyalliance.org/2019/05/energy-investment-production-benefit-families-businesses/
Mon, 13 May 2019 18:35:58 +0000https://consumerenergyalliance.org/?p=35893CEA’s Chris Ventura demonstrates the broad impact of record-setting energy production out of the Appalachian region, and how it has benefited Ohio families and businesses. Local energy production and infrastructure investments have lowered energy costs and helped ease the burden on households in poverty and those living paycheck to paycheck, providing them with the ability

]]>CEA’s Chris Ventura demonstrates the broad impact of record-setting energy production out of the Appalachian region, and how it has benefited Ohio families and businesses.

Local energy production and infrastructure investments have lowered energy costs and helped ease the burden on households in poverty and those living paycheck to paycheck, providing them with the ability to pay for necessities like clothes, groceries and medications.

]]>Kudos for Supporting Liquified Natural Gashttps://consumerenergyalliance.org/2019/05/kudos-for-supporting-liquified-natural-gas/
Mon, 13 May 2019 18:27:53 +0000https://consumerenergyalliance.org/?p=35889CEA’s Andrew Browning applauds the the Governor of Utah as well as the Ute Indian Tribe of Uintah and Ouray reservations for working with the Wyoming Governor’s Office and leaders in several Colorado counties to advance exports of natural gas to markets overseas. There’s also a fast-growing demand for U.S.-produced liquid natural gas in Asian

]]>CEA’s Andrew Browning applauds the the Governor of Utah as well as the Ute Indian Tribe of Uintah and Ouray reservations for working with the Wyoming Governor’s Office and leaders in several Colorado counties to advance exports of natural gas to markets overseas.

There’s also a fast-growing demand for U.S.-produced liquid natural gas in Asian markets looking to reduce industry-related emissions and lower energy costs, a must in the fight against poverty and for improving environmental conditions there and, in turn, here, making the export strategy a win, economically and environmentally.

]]>Top 5 Energy News Stories This Weekhttps://consumerenergyalliance.org/2019/05/top-5-energy-news-stories-this-week-3/
Fri, 10 May 2019 12:00:48 +0000https://consumerenergyalliance.org/?p=35880Top 5 Energy News Stories This Week NuScale’s Future of Nuclear Energy Many current nuclear power plants are large, but NuScale Power says the future of nuclear energy is smaller, less expensive and safer. The proposed small modular reactors would use 12 of the SMRs in place of the large nuclear power plant. Nuclear energy

Many current nuclear power plants are large, but NuScale Power says the future of nuclear energy is smaller, less expensive and safer. The proposed small modular reactors would use 12 of the SMRs in place of the large nuclear power plant. Nuclear energy can be used as a backup power source for renewables like solar and wind. Another benefit of small modular reactors is the ability for the power to be dispatched even quicker than traditional and larger plants. Moreover, without using any additional water or relying on pumps or generators that could fail. Instead, the reactors would be inside a containment vessel, in a pool of water underground.

The INGAA Foundation recently released a study outlining the future of natural gas as a key player in America’s energy future. The report looks at two different scenarios: one that takes a balanced approach to our energy future and the other that focuses more heavily on growing renewables. Natural gas is necessary in both scenarios, where it is a key player in transitioning to a lower-carbon future.

Researchers at UCLA studying perovskite, a solar cell material, found that caffeine may be able to improve stability and efficiency of solar panels. Caffeine is specifically being looked at to improve perovskite, which is cheaper than the current silicon that is used to produce solar cells today. One of the issues researchers came across with perovskite, holding it back from commercial use, was that the material on its own cannot sustain heat and moisture like silicon. Yet, with caffeine, which boils at 300 degrees Celsius, perovskite is able to remain stable for longer.

The U.S. Geothermal energy market is set to grow $8507 million by 2024. With uses both in the civil and military sectors, geothermal energy demand will increase over the next few years. As geothermal energy is produced from the heat within the earth, it produces less emissions than other energy resources.

In a study released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the United States is reported to have produced, consumed and exported at record levels in 2018. Production levels reached 96 quadrillion British thermal units – up 8% from 2017. Natural gas and oil accounted for 57% of all U.S. energy production, a natural gas increase of 12% and 17% increase in oil. Additionally, Renewables increased 4% from 2017. Energy exports also grew 18% to 21 quadrillion Btu, with 68% of all U.S. energy exports in 2018. Consumption also increased 4% in 2018, reaching a record high of 101 quadrillion Btu.